CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
S TEFANIE
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J ULIAN DIDN’T GIVE me time to think. One second, his mouth was on me, devouring me like he’d starve without my taste. Then, suddenly, I was airborne, cradled in his arms as lust blazed in his eyes, his lips glistening with my juices.
“I need to be inside you,” he told me, voice husky as he carried me over to the couch.
Though he sat me down gently, the look in his eyes as they swept over my naked body said he wanted to break me. And I was okay with that. I wanted him to break me in the best way possible. And then he licked his lips, making my pussy jealous.
He tugged on his pants, pulling them down and kicking them out of the way, followed by his socks. Suddenly, he was naked, and my mouth was watering. I’d seen this man naked before, but I still marveled at how sexy he was.
He was all broad chest and clenched muscles, with a cock that stood hard and thick, tip already beaded with precum. Fuck , he was a sight to behold. Julian’s eyes darkened as he stepped forward.
“If you keep looking at me like that,” he murmured. “I’m going to think you love me back, sweet Stefanie.”
Before I could throw out a witty retort, the muscles in his abdomen flexed, and the words got stuck in my throat.
“Open those legs for me, Stefanie,” he told me, voice filled with hunger. “Let me see what’s mine.”
My thighs parted on instinct, my glistening pussy eager to show him just how wet she was for him. He made a sound low in his throat, something between a groan and a growl. I wasn’t sure which, but it made me gush for him even more.
And then he leaned down and lifted me like I weighed nothing, cradling me against his chest as he turned and sat us both down on the couch. My knees straddled his lap, thighs spread wide across him. My pussy was now pressed against the hard line of his cock, heat to heat, silk to steel.
“I’ve missed you like this,” he murmured, hands trailing up my back. “Naked and wet for me.”
“I’ve missed...”
The words caught in my throat because his hand had slipped between us. Two fingers parted me, sliding through my soaked folds.
“What were you about to say love?” he whispered, thumb rubbing over my clit.
“I-I’ve missed this too,” I stuttered, my voice already shaking.
“Not as much as I missed you. Let me show you how much I’ve missed my sweet Stefanie,” he murmured, his mouth finding the curve of my neck, nipping lightly, then kissing lower.
I braced my hands on his shoulders as he slid a finger inside me, moving slowly, curling it just right.
“Damn, baby,” he murmured against my neck. “You’re dripping wet. This pussy is hungry for me.”
A second finger pushed in, stretching me. My back arched, nails biting into his shoulders.
“Julian,” I whimpered.
“Shhhh. Let me hear how wet you are,” he rasped, sliding his fingers out slowly, then pushing them in, only to slide them out again.
“You hear that?” he asked as he fingered me. “You hear how wet that pussy is for me?”
I could hear it. My pussy was snitching, telling him how much we’d missed him by making sluicing sounds as he increased his pace, fingering me faster.
“You’re soaking my fucking hand, baby. This pussy missed me, didn’t she?”
I couldn’t lie. I didn’t want to. “Yes. Fuck, yes.”
“That’s it,” he growled. “Open up for me. Let me stretch this pussy before I give you what you’re begging for.”
I bucked against his fingers as he pushed them in and out of me, playing me like I was an instrument he’d fine-tuned himself. My eyes drifted shut, and I moaned his name as the pleasure unfurled within me.
Then he withdrew his fingers, and I nearly cried out at the loss. I opened my eyes. My breath caught in my throat when he brought his fingers to his mouth and licked away the juices that coated them.
His eyes drifted shut for a second. “Still the best thing I’ve ever had on my tongue.”
I whimpered, unable to hide how badly I needed him. All of him.
“Julian...”
“I know what you need, baby. I’m about to give you more.”
He didn’t waste time. He gripped my hips, angling me just right. Holding onto his shoulders, I leaned back, thighs spread wide as he gripped his cock. I felt him there, hard and thick, pressing at my entrance.
I was ready, more than ready. I was so wet I was pretty sure I was dripping onto his thighs. I stared down, wanting to see his cock knocking at my door. My breath stuttered at the sight of him rubbing the thick crown of his cock between my folds, coating the tip in my essence. My pussy clenched, already aching to be filled.
“Look at me,” he said softly.
I did. And the look in his eyes... it did something to me. It wasn’t just lust. It wasn’t just hunger. It was... more .
“I want to see your face when I slide inside you.”
I nodded, chest rising and falling like I’d just run a marathon when all I’d done was sit here and let this man do whatever he wanted to me. With one hand gripping his cock, he slid the other up my back and grabbed my nape.
Gush!
“Lean back,” he whispered.
Of course, I obeyed. Hands still on his shoulders, I leaned back further, giving him complete access to my pussy. He was in command of my body tonight. He rubbed his cock between my folds twice more and then pressed forward, easing the tip in.
He removed his hand from his cock and gripped my ass, lifting me a fraction until I was straddling his cock with the tip still lodge within me. Lifting his hips, he pushed into me slowly, going deep, stretching me wide. I couldn’t look away.
“That’s it,” he breathed, both hands moving to my hips as he eased me down onto his cock. “Take every inch. Let me fill this pussy up.”
I closed my eyes as he eased me onto his cock inch by inch. I rotated my hips when it felt like I couldn’t take more. But I knew I could. I could take all of this man. His thumb rubbed over my clit, making me slicker, making it easier for me to take him deeper.
“Fuck, Julian!”
“Yeah, baby. Take it. Take all of me,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “This pussy is fucking perfect. Even if you don’t love me yet, I promise you this pussy is already in love with me. We’re just waiting for you to catch up, love.”
I held his gaze as he pushed deeper, inch by inch, my body stretching around him, welcoming him home. He filled me completely, until I was gasping and gripping his shoulders for balance.
He bottomed out with a groan, body flush against mine. I felt full . Stuffed. Claimed. One with Julian Cattaneo.
“You feel that?” he rasped, dropping his forehead to mine. “That’s me. All of me. Deep as I can go. Right where I belong. In you. With you. Can you feel all of me?”
“Yes,” I whimpered.
“I’m gonna fuck you just like this,” he growled. “Until you can’t think straight. Until you beg me to let you come.”
He started to move in slow, sensual strokes that hit deep, letting me feel every thick inch of the cock I craved. I moaned, breathless, my body melting into his, arms going around his neck.
Each slow thrust had my breath catching, had my thighs quivering where they rested on either side of his legs. I could feel him everywhere. Cock deep inside me. Arms wrapped around me. Chest pressed against me, his heart speaking to my heart.
“Fuck,” I whispered, forehead dropping to his as our bodies found a rhythm.
Julian cupped the back of my neck, holding me there, his thumb stroking my jaw.
“Listen to how wet you are,” he whispered against my ear, hips thrusting up as he rocked me on his lap. “Every time I thrust, it’s a fucking symphony down there. This pussy sings for me.” He tilted my head back and pressed a soft kiss to my lips before whispering, “This is my favorite song, sweet Stefanie. This is our song. Do you hear it?”
“Yes,” I groaned, the word drawn out on a gasp as his cock hit a spot so deep it made me shudder. My arms clung tighter around his shoulders, desperate for more of that perfect, rhythmic friction.
“Do you like our song?” he whispered, hips still rolling in that slow, devastating grind that kept my clit grinding against him.
“I love it, Julian,” I gasped, and the need in my voice made him growl low in his throat.
He dipped his head, tongue dragging over the pulse in my neck before he nipped the skin just hard enough to make me twitch.
“Do you want me to switch up the tempo?” he groaned.
My nails dug into his back, hips stuttering as I moaned, “Please . ”
He thrust again, hard, rocking into me. My hands clawed down his back, and he just laughed, a dark, sexy sound that made my pussy clench tighter around him. I trembled in his lap, overwhelmed by the slow grind of his hips beneath me.
My head fell back, and he took advantage of the opening, trailing kisses along the curve of my throat. I was unraveling fast.
“I can feel every inch of you gripping me,” he murmured against my skin. “So tight, baby. So fucking perfect.”
I clenched around him, and he growled, the sound vibrating through me. His grip on my waist tightened, and his pace picked up. I couldn’t sit still. I moved with him, riding his cock, bouncing on that dick, my thick thighs slamming against his thighs as I rode him.
“Fuck, Stefanie,” he groaned. “Just like that. Keep bouncing on that dick like that, baby.”
Each bounce sent shocks through my core. And when his thumb found my clit, and began rubbing circles on my sensitive nub, my arousal skyrocketed.
“I wanna feel this pussy milk my cock. Cum for me, sweet Stefanie,” he coaxed. “I can feel how close you are.”
I was. My body trembled, my nails digging into his shoulders. Every stroke hit that place inside me that made me see stars. My breath came in sharp little pants. My hips moved on instinct now, chasing the high only he could give me.
“Julian...” My voice cracked.
“I’ve got you. Let go, Stefanie. Give it to me.”
And I did. I shattered around him, eyes wide, mouth open, body writhing in his lap. My orgasm tore through me like a storm, wild and raging, tearing down everything in its path. I clung to him, burying my face in his neck, gasping his name as waves of pleasure rolled over me.
I found myself pressing kisses to his throat, biting him, marking him up as my pussy quivered around his cock, the pleasure setting my entire body on fire. And he fucked me through it, driving into me as I shuddered and whimpered his name against his throat.
And when my body finally ceased trembling, when I finally lifted my head to meet his gaze, I nearly gasped at what I saw in Julian Cattaneo's eyes. He looked at me like I was his whole world. Like, without me, there was no him. I swallowed, tears stinging my eyes.
“You,” he said, voice hoarse. “Are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
And I believed him, because when he looked at me, I felt like the most beautiful woman in the world. He cupped my face and trailed his thumb over my cheek.
“I hope you’re ready for more. Because I’m not done.”
“You’re not?” I whispered.
A smirk curved his lips. “I’m just getting started. I plan to be buried in this pussy all night, sweet Stefanie.”
Before I could catch my breath, he shifted us, rising from the couch with me still wrapped around him, his cock still pulsing inside me. I clung to him, stunned by the strength in his arms, the heat in his gaze.
He laid me back down across the couch, my body melting into the cushions. His body never left mine. Not for a second. He braced himself above me, one hand cupping my cheek, the other gripping my thigh and hitching it higher on his hip.
His next thrust was deeper, smoother, as he glided into the heat still pulsing between my thighs from the orgasm that just rocked me. The cream from my orgasm still coated his cock and he was about to fuck another one out of me. I could feel it building.
“Julian...” I moaned, arching into him.
“I know, baby. I feel it too,” he rasped.
His mouth captured mine in a kiss so consuming, it left me dizzy. Our tongues tangled, our breath mixed, our bodies surged together with the kind of hunger that left no room for doubt that this wasn’t just sex.
This was something else. Something deeper. Something more . My fingers couldn’t have given me this. My toys couldn’t have given me this. No other man could’ve given me this. Only my JC. Julian Cattaneo.
He wrenched his mouth from mine to say, “I love you, Stefanie. And I don’t take those words lightly, and I don’t give them out randomly. I say them, knowing you come with a daughter I’ll have to prove my worth to. A daughter, I’ll prove my love for you to. And I know things can become challenging,” he told me as he thrust into my heat, sending pleasure radiating over my body.
“I don’t expect it to be easy. But saying I love you means I’m ready to put in the work,” he groaned, his hand caressing my cheek as he thrust deeper. “It means I’m ready to fight for you because you’re worth fighting for. It means I’m ready to protect you and your daughter because the moment I realized I loved you, you and she became just as important to me as my family.”
He shoved harder into my heat, causing my breath to catch at the feel of his cock and the truth in his voice.
“When I say I love you, it isn’t just three sweet words. It’s the foundation for a lifetime of trust, love, protection, honor, and loyalty.”
He thrust again, a little harder this time, making my body tremble beneath him. His next words came in a growl, laced with devotion and need.
“I. Love. You. Stefanie Adams.”
I stared up at him, my heart thudding so loudly I could barely hear anything else. But I nodded because I didn't know what else to do. I didn’t know what to do with his love yet. I didn’t know if I could accept it, if I could return it wholeheartedly.
And the last thing I wanted to do was hurt this man or lead him on. I’d been hurt. I’d been led on. No one deserved that. Especially not a man like Julian, who loved openly, with no shame, with a purity that was rare, a purity I was afraid I’d lost years ago. Though I couldn’t say those words back to him, I did say the only words I could.
“Don’t stop,” I breathed.
Don’t stop loving me. Don’t stop fighting for me. Don’t stop believing in me. Don’t stop staring at me like I’m your world.
“Please, don’t stop,” I whispered.
“I’ll never stop,” he groaned.
His pace quickened. There was a wild hunger to his movements now. One, I matched as I lifted my hips, meeting him thrust for thrust. But there was urgency now. Each stroke pushed me closer to the edge again.
My hands roamed his back, nails scraping lightly down the strong muscles as the tension built inside me again, tighter, higher, stronger.
“I want to feel you come around me again,” he growled into my ear. “Lose control on my cock, sweet Stefanie.”
My legs wrapped tighter around his waist, ankles locking behind him as I fucked him back, giving just as good as I got.
“I’m close...” I whispered, the pressure reaching hellish levels again.
“I’ve got you,” he promised. “Give me that cream. My cock needs it.”
And I did. I gave him that cream, all of it. With a cry of his name, I tumbled over that edge again. My second climax was much more intense and stronger than the one before it. It shook me to my core.
My pussy quivered, tightening around Julian’s cock, pulling him down with me. Julian followed with a guttural groan, burying himself deep as he came, body trembling above mine. I could feel his cum filling me up as he continued to pound my body.
He lowered his forehead to mine and rocked into me. I could feel his breath against my face, could feel his cock pulsing inside me as he gave me everything he had. I could feel the love he had for me as he whispered those three words over and over again, so softly, as he came apart inside me.
And once we ceased trembling, once our bodies had given all we could give, we lay there, tangled and breathless, for what felt like forever. Neither of us spoke. There was no need. Everything that needed to be said had been said.
The only thing left now was for me to decide what to do with what was said. We lay there for so long that I almost drifted off to sleep. Eventually, he pulled back just enough to kiss me again, soft and slow this time.
“You’re mine,” he whispered against my lips.
I am. I said those words with my heart because I wasn’t ready to utter them out loud. But the truth was, I’ve been his for a while now. I just... I wasn’t ready for what that would lead to.
And I wasn’t going to rush into something I didn’t know if I was ready for. Neither would I make promises I couldn’t keep. So, for now, I remained silent except for a yawn that escaped on its own. Julian’s thumb brushed my cheek, and he smiled softly, wearing his emotions in his gaze.
“Come on, beautiful,” he murmured, his voice husky. “Let’s get you to bed.”
He slid his arms beneath me and lifted me effortlessly off the couch. He was making a habit of carrying me when he wanted me somewhere.
“You’re exhausted,” he whispered against my temple, his lips brushing my hair. “Lean on me. I’ve got you.”
My head dropped against his shoulder, and I didn’t even bother pretending to protest. I enjoyed having him care for me this way. He carried me through the house, his bare feet silent against the floors.
I noted that he didn’t ask where the bedroom was. Red flag. I smiled, letting it slide with my color blind ass. He carried me to my bed and laid me down. I melted into the sheets, exhausted physically and emotionally.
When he slid in beside me, gathering me into his arms, I didn’t hesitate to relax against him. I pressed into him, nuzzling my face against his chest, breathing him in. His arms curled tighter around me.
“Do you believe me when I say I love you, Stefanie Adams?” he whispered.
I remained silent, afraid to answer.
“Please, answer me.”
I swallowed. “Yes,” I murmured. “I believe you, Julian.”
“Do you believe I’d never hurt you?” he asked. “That I’d hurt myself before I hurt you or betray your trust?”
Was he trying to break me? “Yes,” I whispered.
“Do you believe me when I say I’m not letting you go?” he whispered. “I won’t. I can’t.”
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I wasn’t ready yet. And thankfully, he didn’t press further. I closed my eyes, letting his words replay in my mind. Some people fell in and out of love easily.
They moved from one love to the next and never stopped to look back. I’d only loved one man in my life. After that love was betrayed, I never found the strength to give love another chance.
I hated that I let Archie break me in a way I still hadn’t been able to heal from. I hated that I couldn’t love freely like others could. I hated that I’d never been strong enough to take a chance on love like Julian was.
Though it had been seventeen years since I was hurt, I was finally ready to start healing. But healing for me meant opening up old wounds to cleanse them of the infection that had festered for years.
It meant removing people from mine and India’s lives and setting new boundaries for others. It would be a process. It wouldn’t be easy. And it would take some time. I just hoped Julian would still be there once the healing was over.
I guess you could say that in my heart, I was no longer fighting my truth. I loved Julian Cattaneo. But I wasn’t free to tell him that yet. I had to heal first. I had to work on my past first. I had to gather up the courage to explain this relationship to India.
Only after all of that was done could I tell him that my heart and body belonged to him and only him. Until then, my body was all I could give him. That night, I fell asleep wrapped in Julian’s embrace, where I belonged.